It’s Not What You Can Do for the Gaijin, but What the Gaijin Can Do for You!
May 16th, 2011 | KikScore & KikReport | No Comments »
Hi! My name is Brad and I’m new to KikScore!
I’m a Japanese and business major at the University of Pittsburgh. For those of you (probably a lot) who don’t know the word ‘gaijin,’ it means ‘foreigner’ in Japanese. I studied abroad in Japan for a semester, so I can tell you that it’s basically your second name while you’re there. Before I go on, I will say that I’m definitely not an anime-obsessed in-your-face Japanese major. Actually, contrary to popular belief, a lot of us are in it more for the language and culture than for the “Hey look! I can watch anime without subtitles!” I’m not knocking those who do. I’m just putting this out there to clear up any potential stereotypes. It can and should be noted that both groups of people do exist within the Japanese major.
As my major oh-so-subtly implies, I’m pretty interested in doing international business (probably marketing) with Japan. Therefore, I guess I’ll have to become more than ‘that gaijin’ if I want to fit into both the U.S. and Japanese cultures. Perfect first step: knowing how to work with businesses on a person-by-person basis as well as thoroughly understanding the internet as a business tool. That’s why I’m really excited to work with KikScore. I’m always learning more about the Japanese language and culture, which I’ll need. On the other hand, you really need more than your professors when learning how to work in a business setting.
I guess what I want to say is that that I’m glad to be working with people who will put me on the right track.
